Gate for water-wheels.



PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

S. E. HEATHGOTB. GATE FOR WATER WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7.1904.

V E N TOR I (z/MI; 6 2;: W M

Adm-nay ANDREW. a cum! co., wow-museum, wlsummon, n. a

SPURGEON E. HEATHGOTE, OF GLENROOK, PENNSYLVANIA.

GATE FOR WATER-WHEELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1905.

' Application filed November '7, 1904. Serial No. 231,815.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SPURGEON E. HEATH- corn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glenrock, in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gates for WaterlVheels; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it 'appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in water-gates for raceways, &c.; and the object of the invention is to produce asimple and efficient device of this character in which a gate is provided and operated automatically by suitable gear connections with a water-wheel, whereby the quantity of water being fed to the wheel may be regulated in accordance with the work required of the wheel.

My invention consists, further, in various details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter fully described, and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this application, and in which drawings similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the views, in which Figure 1 is a rear elevation of my invention, parts of the drawing being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a sectional view longitudinally through a portion of a raceway and a water-Wheel, parts being shown in elevation.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates a raceway, and B a breast-wheel, mounted upon a shaft B, suitably journaled, said wheel being positioned so that its circumference will rotate adjacent to the .end of the raceway. Mounted upon the cross-pieces (J, which are at one end of the raceway, are the rack-bars D, one on each side, and E designates a flexible curtain made of leather or any suitable fabric, which curtain is fastened at E to the lowermost of said cross-pieces O.

F designates a reel, which has secured thereto pinion-wheels G, one upon each end of the reel and adapted to mesh with the teeth of the rack-bars D.

H H designate two movable rack bars mounted in suitable guideways K upon the opposite sides of the raceway, and L L designate pinion-wheels which are in mesh with said rack-bars H. Said pinion-wheels L are fixed to a shaft N, mounted in suitable bearings. Fixed to an extended portion of the shaft N is a gear-wheel M, which is in mesh with a gear-wheel O, rotating with a shaft 0, mounted in suitable bearings in one of the side walls of the raceway and in the standard J. At the outer end of the shaft 0 is a beveled friction-wheel P, fixed thereto and which is adapted to be driven in one direction or the other, accordingly as said beveled friction-wheel contacts with a beveled frictionwheel I or I. Said friction-wheels I and I are fixed to a sleeve 1 which is splined to a shaft 1 mounted in suitable. bearings in the arms J of said standard.

A governor mechanism is provided which comprises the balls R, connected, by means of links H, to the collars R and R respectively, which latter is connected to the beveled friction-wheel I, as shown clearly in Fig. l of the drawings. The lower end of the shaft 1? has fixed thereto a beveled gear-wheel 1*, which is in mesh with a similar wheel 1", carried and driven by a shaft I. Fixed to theshaft I is a pulley I, over which a belt I passes, which latter also passes over a pulley 1 upon the counter-shaft P", which is journaled in suitable bearings and has fixed to one end thereof a gear-wheel I Mounted upon said shaft B is a gear-wheel S, which is in mesh with the gear-wheel I In operation, referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of i the drawings, I have shown the gate as partially open, as indicated at the space W in Fig.2, immediately above the reel upon which the curtain-gate winds. In this position a certain quantity of water is allowed to make exit through said passage-way W, and in this adjustment of the apparatus it will be observed that neither of the friction wheels I or I is in contact with the friction-wheel P. In the event of the wheel rotating toofast the balls of the governor will be thrown out by centrifugal force by means of the geared connections between'the shafts B and I, and the friction-wheel I will be thrown against the beveled friction-wheel P, and through the connections between the same and the wheel L the rack-bars H will be raised and the gatecurtain will be unreeled for the purpose of partially closing the passage-way W, allowing a less quantity of water to make exit to the wheel. When a greater power is required of the water-wheel, and consequently a larger volume of water is required to feed the wheel, a reverse movement is imparted to the mechanism for controlling the gate through the geared connections between the beveled friction-wheels I and P, which will cause, through the geared connections between the frictionwheel P and the pinion-wheels L, the rackbars H to be thrown down, and through the medium of said rack-bars H the flexible gate will be caused to wind upon the reel as the latter moves toward the bottom of the raceway,thus increasing the exit passage-way from the raceway and allowing a larger volume of water to fall upon the water-wheel.

From the foregoing it will be observed that by the provision of the apparatus shown and described an automatic means is provided for regulating the volume of water to be fed to a wheel, the amount of water being regulated for different powers which may be required of the wheel.

While I have shown a particular form of apparatus illustrating my water-feeding mechanism, it will be understood thatImay vary the details of the same, if desired, in various ways without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention,- what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An apparatus for automatically regulating the flow of water from raceways to waterwheels comprising, in combination with a raceway and water-wheel, a flexible gate, a reel upon which said gate is adapted to wind, gear connections between said reel and water-wheel, and a governor mechanism whereby the speed of the rotating wheel is adapted to regulate the volume of water passing by said gate and making exit to the wheel, as set forth.

2. An apparatus for automatically regulating the flow of water from raceways to Waterwheels comprising, in combination with a raceway and water-wheel, a flexible gate fixed at its lower end to the raceway, a vertically-movable reel about which said curtain winds and gear mechanism intermediate said reel and water-wheel, and governor mechanism whereby the speed of the water-wheel is adapted to regulate the rotary movement of said reel to vary the volume of water being fed to the wheel, as set forth.

3. An apparatus for regulating the flow of water from raceways to water-wheels comprising, in combination with a raceway and water-wheel, a flexible gate fixed at its lower end, a reel about which said gate is adapted to wind, pinion-wheels carried by said reel, stationary rack-bars in mesh with said pinionwheels, and movable rack-bars also in mesh with said pinion-Wheels, gear connections intermediate said water-wheel and movable rackbars, whereby the volume of water being fed from the raceway to the wheel may be regulated, as set forth.

4:. An apparatus for automatically regulating the flow of water from raceways to waterwheels comprising, in combination with a raceway and water-wheel, vertically-disposed rackbars fixed to the end of the raceway, a flexible curtain fixed at its lower end to the raceway, a reel about which the curtain winds, pinion-Wheels secured to said reel and in mesh with said rack-bars, movable rack-bars in mesh with said pinions and adapted, as they are moved longitudinally, to cause said reel to rise or lower, whereby the curtain may wind upon the reel, pinions in mesh with said movable racks and gear connections intermediate the water-wheel and said pinions in mesh with the movable racks, and governor mechanism for regulating the movement of said reel, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SPURGEON E. HEATHCOTE.

Witnesses:

H. A. KOLLER, FREDERICK 0L1). 

